Cycleways Cup - 3rd March 2019

burger1979

Well folks it's that time of year again when the racing season is almost upon us, and with that come the yearly test of the legs on the Cylceways Cup race route, through some undulating roads of Meath.

This years event is taking place on the 3rd March 2019, the venue for sign on is Simonstown GAA Club on the Proudstown road, Navan. Location is here:

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Simonstown+Gaels/@53.6719217,-6.67995,16.08z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x627040857c2fbe5f!8m2!3d53.6737914!4d-6.6774948

Postal code is C15 N61X.

Sign on is from 9.30am. Sign on is available online for racing categories, A4 entry will be via online only. I will have the online entry link later on today hopefully. Other racing categories will be available to enter on day also if required, but I would advise to enter online if you can before hand.

4no seperate races - A1 - 115kms
A2 - 115kms
A3 + Juniors - 115kms
A4 - 80kms.

Races will start at 12.30pm sharp. Racing will start following short neutral section after leaving the GAA grounds. Finish line will be at Wilkinstown Community Centre.

We hope to see some of you there on the day and hopefully it will be a good race for those who enter.

burger1979

Folks,

please find link to the eventmaster website to enter to the Cycleways race on the 3rd March. Remember A4 have to enter via this link. Other categories can too. We would prefer you to sign on via the website if possible, as it should make sign on a little bit easier. If you choose to sign on the morning of the race, can I ask you to please have the exact amount of race entry with you (€17.00). We will have some change but having a 3 euro change for everyone can be cumbersome. Look forward to seeing you all on the morning. If you have any questions then please post here, message the club on facebook or email the club.

burger.

https://eventmaster.ie/event/lJ4SV8HPO

burger1979

Folks,

just to bump this and remind everyone that A4 is online entry only and also we would encourage everyone to sign up online before the day. See you on Sunday 3rd March.

burger.

Plastik

Didn't realise that prices had increased from 15 max to 17 at last years AGM.

burger1979

Hi Plastik,

yeah they have, a bit of a pain to be honest, will have to have lots of coins to throw out as change on the morning. Unless of course the generous cycling community and riders that attend have the exact entry fee on them when signing on.....hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink....

Or you could register online and save yourself the hassle of carrying all that change with you.......again......hint hint....nudge nudge, wink wink.....

Anyways online registration will close Saturday 6pm.

DirkVoodoo

Oh dear, I thought I had registered for this...it doesn't appear so.

Can you tell me are there still A3 spots left? I just missed the online sign-on too.

ht9zni1gs28crp

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Oh dear, I thought I had registered for this...it doesn't appear so.

Can you tell me are there still A3 spots left? I just missed the online sign-on too.

Yes, slots available. :cool:

CramCycle

Anyone tweeting from the race today?

magicbastarder

judging by their twitter feed, if they are tweeting, it's just going to be facebook links:

https://twitter.com/navanroadclub

Bambaata

Anyone find anyone giving updates?

secman

Other than lads pulling out, couldn't feel their hands, sounds like it was horrendous.

wirelessdude01

Is it true that only 5 lads finished the A3 and that a lad that was out front on his own by around 4mins pulled the plug due to the conditions?

wav1

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Is it true that only 5 lads finished the A3 and that a lad that was out front on his own by around 4mins pulled the plug due to the conditions?

Think only 4 finished in and.. and yes leader packed it.couldnt hold bars..bout 7 or 8 finished a1 race at most

CramCycle

Heard a few reports, fair play to anyone who made it around.

secman

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Is it true that only 5 lads finished the A3 and that a lad that was out front on his own by around 4mins pulled the plug due to the conditions?

Not sure but Martin Peters from Gorey cc placed 2nd

Luxman

We stopped in a garage at wilkinstown from a club spin and abandoned. Lad from Westport came in from a2 race. He just quit cos he couldn’t get food out of his pockets or change gears. He was in the breakaway apparently. Couldnt even cycle up to the start finish line. Girls in the garage let us heat our hands on the glass over the hot food counter

dahat

Mental weather and kudos to all that finished any of the races.

CramCycle

I seen further south the comms called it a day within a few minutes, stories of lads out in shorts and fingerless gloves. Ah, to be young and wreckless.

dahat

Abandoned due to heavy snow on course, on next week instead.

We passed 4 lads on TT bikes today in shorts, madmen given the forecast.

CramCycle

dahat wrote: »

Abandoned due to heavy snow on course, on next week instead.

We passed 4 lads on TT bikes today in shorts, madmen given the forecast.

100% the right call, I seen the pics of juniors in insulation blankets at their first ever race, a christening of fire (or ice in this case).

dahat

CramCycle wrote: »

100% the right call, I seen the pics of juniors in insulation blankets at their first ever race, a christening of fire (or ice in this case).

Yep and everyone agreed it was the right call looking at various feeds.

There was a cancellation in Munster next weekend so they were able to slot the race in without issue I'd say.

DirkVoodoo

Well, that was interesting...

I knew I was in for a hard day when I was still freezing after the warm up. I wore leg warmers, base layer, jersey, gilet and a warm long sleeve jersey I've used commuting all during the winter.

The worst part was it got colder and colder as the race went on. A bunch turned off after the first lap but I figured I'd stick at it. Legs were fine even if my hands had lost all feeling. Guys were constantly trying to shake life back into their hands, but to no avail.

The snow came down half way through the second lap. I started thinking that my hands had gone beyond cold and I might be doing serious damage. I kept fluffing my gear shifts. Braking was hit or miss and I couldn't move my fingers in any way to grab food or a drink. Once my legs started to freeze up, turning the pedals became hard and I dropped out of the remaining 18 or so riders.

I limped the last few km to the finish line and pulled over. It wasn't that far to the sign-on but I wouldn't have made it, only for two Navan volunteers to offer me a warm car and a trip back.

I feel bad for the organisers. No control over the weather, which I'm sure will grab all the headlines, but the organisation was excellent, thr route was challenging but safe. Well done all.

And thanks to Stephen and Noel for dropping me back to the sign-on. The one advantage of uncontrollable shaking was that I managed to spill plenty of tea onto my frozen hands.

burger1979

Folks,

First off thanks to all marshalls and on course staff that made the race happen today. Races dont happen with out any of their help.
To all racers that took part, massive kudos and well done on what was a challenging day weather wise. We cant control the weather unfortunately, and for the last few years the race has always had some bad weather attached to it. Hope it doesnt get some sort of rep from it!! .

To racers that did DNF, I hope that you got some help on course if needed in getting warm again or just help in general, and if you enjoyed any of that today fair play.

If anyone has any pointers or advice for running a better race I would be happy to hear it. Hope to see you soon at another of our races during the year.

Burger.

RobFowl

From where I was the conditions were warm and pleasant (inside a car following the A4 race ).
Serious respect for the Marshals standing on corners, really felt for them., Great dedication. Super organisation by the club and they couldn't be faulted.
Our Club champ won the A4 race after a 2 up break which annihilated the rest of the race. Not much between them at the end and both up to A3 now (well deserved).
Took nearly an hour for him to stop shaking and passed various riders in "rag order" on the way back to the race HQ. Gave my jacket to one guy riding back who looked just a tad cold ..

magicbastarder

the finish line photo is phenomenal; lifted from stickybottle.



here's the link to the full size image though, which is amazing - you don't get the detail in the small image:
http://www.stickybottle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/53643420_10219243116253253_3863859266469232640_o.jpg


http://www.stickybottle.com/races-results/cycleways-cup-navan-road-club-2019/

CramCycle

Pic of the year and its only the first weekend

magicbastarder

the second pic in that article is incredible too. and no gloves!

koutoubia

And our boy Stanimal won the A4.
Deadly stuff

Taxuser1

dahat wrote: »

Abandoned due to heavy snow on course, on next week instead.

We passed 4 lads on TT bikes today in shorts, madmen given the forecast.

Is that confirmed that's it's next weekend?

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

the second pic in that article is incredible too. and no gloves!

Mitchel 'gloves are for wimps' McLaughlin of Four Masters CC (Co Donegal) crossing the line in the A2!

(Pic Sean Rowe)

Smalltom

The Marshall's are to be commended. I was in the a2 race and pulled out at the end of lap 2 when I heard that the break had 1.30 on us and my clubmate was in it. Got back to the clubhouse and got a nice lady to remove my helmet cause my hands wouldn't work. 5 mins later my team mate walked in the door shaking uncontrollably. Couldn't control his bike and quit. 4hrs to get home in snow/traffic. The motorbike Marshall in our race was fantastic. He had a silver helmet on. He gave us the time gap regularly, told us the temperature had dropped to 2 degrees and asked us all were we ok to stay going etc. Chapeau to him and all. Minor whinge-no hot showers. Just thawed out now.

Wishbone Ash

The more I read about today, the more I think of stage 14 of the 1988 Giro. I tried to pretend I was Andy Hampsten but failed miserably.

ht9zni1gs28crp

RobFowl wrote: »

From where I was the conditions were warm and pleasant (inside a car following the A4 race ).
Serious respect for the Marshals standing on corners, really felt for them., Great dedications. Super organisation by the club and they couldn't be faulted.
Our Club champ won the A4 race after a 2 up break which annihilated the rest of the race. Not much between them at the end and both up to A3 now (well deserved).
Took nearly an hour for him to stop shaking and passed various riders in "rag order" on the way back to the race HQ. Gave my jacket to one guy riding back who looked just a tad cold ..

I was just in front of you driving the commisaire, your man was very wise and the other not so much!

Enjoy the full view at the end, wasnt sure which rider you were supporting?

zurbfoundation

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Mitchel 'gloves are for wimps' McLaughlin of Four Masters CC (Co Donegal) crossing the line in the A2!

(Pic Sean Rowe)

were the roads closed for this event?

DirkVoodoo

Just wondering if anyone picked up a yellow/white/green helmet with "TOMOUNT" on the side? I might have left it at sign-on.

It's a very basic helmet, old fashioned even, but I'm quite attached to it.

columbus_66

Just wondering if anyone picked up a yellow/white/green helmet with "TOMOUNT" on the side? I might have left it at sign-on.

It's a very basic helmet, old fashioned even, but I'm quite attached to it.

I think that helmet was in the changing room after the race, I was trying to change and people kept asking me was it my helmet. Ring the organisers as they might have it, most people were gone home at this stage.

ht9zni1gs28crp

zurbfoundation wrote: »

were the roads closed for this event?

No, bar the finish line area. The Traffic is held for a few minutes whilst the finish of each race unfolds for safety reasons.

RobFowl

miller_63 wrote: »

I was just in front of you driving the commisaire, your man was very wise and the other not so much!

Enjoy the full view at the end, wasnt sure which rider you were supporting?

It was much appreciated !


Was very impressed at the level of support the club put on, simply fantastic.

Luxman

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone picked up a yellow/white/green helmet with "TOMOUNT" on the side? I might have left it at sign-on.

It's a very basic helmet, old fashioned even, but I'm quite attached to it.

Hi Dirk
I had to back up to a garage there this morning to get some gloves we left behind. I took a look around the community centre (which was closed) in case it was left around outside. Didn't see it sorry

magicbastarder

dillon corkery certainly tried hard:

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/dillon-corkery-hypothermia-cycleways-cup/

magicbastarder

“I’m struggling to explain what I witnessed at the Cycleways Cup”
"he was struck by how ill prepared some of the riders were. He also saw no reason why the racing should have been scrapped or abandoned midway."
http://www.stickybottle.com/blogs/cycleways-cup-navan-snow-cold/

Plastik

In my days we walked to school barefoot.

The line between hardman and eejit is narrowing and becoming more blurred all the time.

magicbastarder

Plastik wrote: »

In my days we walked to school barefoot.

to be fair, he seems to be taking the opposite line; that in his day, they prepared for the conditions, but there were many people who turned up completely unprepared.

Large bottle small glass

This seems apt. A blog post about how tough cycling is, the compulsory Sean Kelly quote and the day after gets up on his turbo


https://paullafford.wordpress.com/2019/03/02/so-it-begins/?fbclid=IwAR0LZfM-UGjnSQBoXG75pARYqhQHEwdZ00m0Z_d6g0gn2FxcunOSvmdHuqc



To the unknown bike riders, have a great year, see you out there. There’s a weather warning for the morning, if you’re worried about whether it’s too wet to go out, I’ll leave you with this final nugget from Sean Kelly.

“I check the weather, I put on my gear, I go out and do my spin, then when I’m back do I decide if it was too wet or not”

Have a great year.

https://ww w.strava.com/activities/2188688821

Plastik

magicbastarder wrote: »

to be fair, he seems to be taking the opposite line; that in his day, they prepared for the conditions, but there were many people who turned up completely unprepared.

Sorry - I suppose my comment was in relation to his belittling attitude towards the conditions and sure everything was hunky dorey if people just hardened up, trained outside more often, and wore the right clothes. When you have people finishing the race in hypothermic condition then asking whether the race should have gone ahead or been pulled is not a completely out of the ballpark question TBH.

harringtonp

It takes a lot to stop a bike race alright.

Have done quite a few triathlons where the swim leg was replaced with a second run (becoming a duathlon) due to the water been deemed too cold (and this is in May with wetsuit compulsory) or a few waves (that would be of little interest to the surfing community)

dahat

The point made in the article is valid, ill prepeared racers for conditions forecast.

I'm racing tomorrow with enough gear for 3 seasons so preparation is key. Lds racing in the bare minimum in that cold was mental.

harringtonp

Game of odds really. I hate overheating and always trend towards bare minimum. Have race in cold, clear bright conditions with shorts (most guys have legs covered) and one thin layer under the jersey and felt I got it perfect. But got caught out badly in the final stage of Gorey last year due to forecast misinterpretation

dahat

As i haven't got a set of knee warmers i'll likely race legs out alright tomorrow but that would be a choice normally unless near 2/3 degress.

harringtonp

dahat wrote: »

As i haven't got a set of knee warmers i'll likely race legs out alright tomorrow but that would be a choice normally unless near 2/3 degress.

Its not so much the temperature I find but whether or not there is precipitation with it

DirkVoodoo

I think it's important to remember that conditions on Sunday worsened as the race went on.

I warmed up in more clothes than I would wear on a winter spin, let alone a race, and I was cold starting out, but I figured I would warm up once the racing started and being too warm is as bad as being too cold.

Very little could have prepared you for what unfolded. I had winter gloves on but my hands were still numb all the way through. I didn't wear overshoes as I rarely need them and my toes were actually fine...weird circulation.

I don't think the race should have been stopped, but I don't think it's fair to blame riders for being ill prepared when conditions went from cold to arctic.

It wasn't simply a case of "harden up and keep riding".